“The Armed Forces say that the enemy is trying to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city, but statements about the encirclement of Ukrainian forces are “fiction and fantasy””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Heavy battles are taking place in Kupyansk and its surroundings, and the occupiers are trying to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city. However, any statements about the “surrounding” of Ukrainian troops there are fiction and fantasy, which is not based on any actual data on the ground,” the message reads.
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukrainian troops are allegedly blocked in Kupyansk. According to him, Moscow “doesn’t mind letting mass media, including Ukrainian and foreign ones, into the encirclement zone of the enemy.”
Read also: Kupyansk on the border – and other frontline troubles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kupyansk is of strategic importance for the defense of Donbass, and its loss could lead to the encirclement of Ukrainian troops on the left bank of the Oskol River, writes the Radio Liberty Donbass.Realii project. The threat to Kupyansk has been growing since the summer, and now the situation has become even more complicated. Russian troops successfully used the tactics of infiltrating in small groups and tried to enter the city through a gas pipe. The operational command “North” of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed that the Defense Forces inflicted fire damage and flooded this pipe.
Russia captured Kupyansk on February 27, 2022, the city was under occupation for more than half a year. Defense forces liberated Kupyansk on September 10, 2022 during the Kharkiv counteroffensive.